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What Do I Write About?

So an interesting thing has happened the past couple days… On a whim I sent an email to the editor of a UK-based gay magazine asking about article submissions.

I was totally expecting some generic ‘thanks but no thanks’ type letter as I’ve gotten from other publications in the past.

But instead I got a generic (he apologised for it being such) response that was quite encouraging regarding freelancing, advising me of what they look for in article submissions and such.

I was totally shocked. I don’t think he’s read my blog or anything (though I had put a link in my email.. so he might have), but he’s given me some guidelines for submitting ideas for potential articles.

So I wanted to put things to you guys – what do you think I should suggest? I was thinking of the ‘Digital Dating’ type of articles or the ‘Gay Dating Tips’ one I posted the other day. Though rewritten so it’s more generic and appealing to a wider audience instead of being from my own personal point of view.

Of course there’s no guarantee they’ll accept my ideas or articles, let alone publish them (fingers crossed!).. But I’ve got to at least give it a try.

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12 thoughts on “What Do I Write About?”

But first the practical advice before I launch into the linguistic one.

I thought both those were good posts. The gay dating one could actually have been an any dating one. Bit sophisticated for me, but it seemed good advice. I’m more into the ‘Do you want to …?’ Yes or no syndrome.

Now, am I the only woman who reads your blog? Doesn’t look like from your sidebar, although I suppose that doesn’t mean anything.

When I first read your reply I wasn’t sure why you were mentioning language.. then I remembered on the train home the pic I’d posted with it.

To be honest, I only meant it to be funny and didn’t really think of it being in a derogatory way. But I think that’s the whole point (I read your article).. I didn’t think.

What you’ve written is quite right.. terms such as that (I’ve been called it many times, and much worse) perpetuate the whole thing, and we all need to use our vocabulary more to say what we mean without putting anyone down.

And yes, I get your point about ‘guys’ too. Too generic a term that too many people use to encompass the whole, when there are many parts to it.

If I’m looking to get something published I do need to remember the audience and be inclusive, not exclusive, in my language. It’s a great reminder, thank you. 🙂

Thanks, I didn’t want to offend you. But I do feel unless I point out abusive/derogatory language that it will just continue to all our detriment. And as groups that receive discrimination because we aren’t macho males, we have something in common and shouldn’t buy into perpetuating hetero male bigotry.

Firstly congratulations on a great reply. I submitted to a new Arts magazine last summer, they gave me no guidelines and that went against me in the final submission. I found them very rude and unprofessional as a result and it left me nowhere in terms of knowing what to write next. I’d like to see more of your Internet Dating experiences. They’re always witty and something I’m sure many people can relate to. Good luck Martin, you deserve a break 🙂

Thanks Mark! I’m definitely quite happy with the response.. now to just take things further. I was already thinking about the Digital Dating posts, however one of the guidelines was they are not looking for personal (ie: the writer’s) experiences, but more advice or personal stories from others (ie: interviewing people to get different perspectives on things). Though those posts I’ve already done could probably be easily re-written for a broader non-personal appeal.

And that’s bad that they never gave you any guidelines for submissions. How are you supposed to know what they’re looking for?

One of the other things the editor said in his email was to actually read the magazine to get an idea of the type of articles they post and how they try to appeal to their readership.

Fingers are crossed. We’ll see where this leads, if anywhere.. it would be freelancing of course, but it’s a step in the right direction I’d say.